How to write a cold email
Sending cold emails is daunting. Writing them is even more nerve-wracking. What if you missed the mark? How do you know you got it right?
At TinyCadence, we’re a big fan of Chris Orlob (LinkedIn). He has great posts for salespeople trying to hit their goals. He also has a wonderful video on this very subject that has helped our team write successful cold emails.
The template
Here is the template for the email that Chris recommends:
Hi Josh,
Looks like you [insert personalized, relevant observation]
With your track record of unconventional growth, you know first-hand how difficult it is to [achieve X-goal without sacrificing Y]
It’s a lose-lose: You either [accomplish X-goal with Y negative-effect], or [accomplish Y with x negative-effect]
We’ve helped [X customers] [achieve positive business outcome].
I think we can do the same for you. Up for a chat?
Chris breaks down the template in this LinkedIn post. He explains, in detail, what each line of the email is doing and why it is important. The basic idea is this:
Relevant introduction. Nobody likes being sold to by strangers, especially if they don’t feel that the strangers don’t know them and what they’re dealing with. Everybody wants to be heard. The first 2 sentences tell your prospect that you hear them without them even having to say anything: you did your homework.
Agitate the pain. They are dealing with stressful work. You might not know the exact details, but you understand their role and responsibilities. You understand it enough that you know a specific trade-off they’re facing.
Sell the future with customer stories. Let them know what’s in their future if they work with you. Other customers have benefitted from using your product, and they can too.
Call to action. The call to action at the end of the email is short. It’s easy to say yes to.
TinyCadence’s example
Our team has gone through a few iterations of this email, but here’s the one that we found worked for us.
Hi Josh,
We just saw your recent marketing campaign, congrats on the new product launch!
With your track record of bootstrapped growth, you know how difficult it is to follow up on all your new leads without breaking your budget.
It feels like there’s no way to win: you either spend more money than you have on sales tools with features you don’t need or you spend countless hours following up on all your new leads manually (or maybe you hired an intern to do it for you).
We’ve helped over 30 customers scale their sales outreach without changing their bottom line.
I think we can do the same for you. Up for a chat?
We changed the language a little bit to resonate more with our target audience, and match the tone of who is sending it (don’t use somebody else’s language or tone- be yourself when you sell!)
Takeaway
Your cold email should be concise and to the point. It should take a little time to craft just right, it should be personal to each person you send it to. But you shouldn’t be afraid to send it! It’s a short email, and it’s low commitment.
